Google launches New Duo Video Calling App For Android and iOS

Google Duo launched on Tuesday and is here to do battle with FaceTime and Skype, giving the Mountain View behemoth a potentially stronger competitor than the woefully underperforming Hangouts.

Google is billing the new app as a simplified alternative to video chat apps already on the market, saying it “takes the complexity out of video calling.”

Available for both Android and iOS smartphones, Google Duo doesn't require anything more than a phone number to launch once the app is downloaded. Unlike Google's Hangouts messaging, voice and video calling tool, people don't even need Google accounts to use Duo.

“Duo has been built to be fast and reliable, so that video calls connect quickly and work well even on slower networks.

Call quality adjusts to changing network conditions to keep you connected when bandwidth is limited, Duo will gracefully reduce the resolution to keep the call going smoothly,” Google said.

For video calls on the go, Duo can switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data automatically without dropping the call. In the launch announcement, Google says that all calls with Duo are end-to-end encrypted. Beyond that, the app is very simple by design, without any additional connections to messaging or other Google services. For a deeper dive, you can check out the obligatory YouTube video with lots of happy people.

There is a shortcut feature in Duo. A call is initiated by just tapping on pictured circles that represent contacts who were recently called. Google had first made an announcement about Duo at its I/O developer conference three months ago.

 A market for video-calling and messaging feature in apps is still evolving since data charges are high and networks remain unstable, notably in India.